Christie's and Sotheby's Compete for Herbert Lust's $60M Collection
Christie's and Sotheby's are vying to auction approximately 300 pieces from the estate of Herbert Lust, a prominent postwar art collector who passed away in May at the age of 99. This collection is estimated to be worth $60 million. The majority of the items will be featured in daytime auctions, with ten significant pieces, such as a 1964 Giacometti sculpture titled "Figure, demie grandeur." Lust, who built his collection through personal connections, owned works by artists like Giacometti and Robert Indiana. In 2017, Sotheby's auctioned 27 pieces by Indiana from Lust's collection. Lust was a generous donor, contributing hundreds of artworks to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and over 70 photographs to the Hirshhorn Museum in 2020, adhering to his philosophy of purchasing what one loves.
Key facts
- Christie's and Sotheby's are competing to sell about 300 works from Herbert Lust's estate.
- The collection is valued at approximately US$60 million (around R$311.4 million).
- Lust died in May at age 99.
- The collection includes works by Giacometti, Robert Indiana, Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Mary Bauermeister, and Hans Bellmer.
- A Giacometti sculpture, 'Figure, demie grandeur', is a highlight, created in 1964 in an edition of six.
- Sotheby's sold 27 Robert Indiana works from Lust's collection in 2017.
- In 2022, Giacometti's 'Femme de Venise III' sold for over US$25 million at Christie's; in 2023, 'Femme Leoni' fetched US$28.4 million at Sotheby's.
- Giacometti's 'L'Homme au doigt' holds the auction record for a sculpture at over US$141 million (2015).
- Lust donated 200 Giacomettis to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
- The Hirshhorn Museum received over 70 photographs from Lust in 2020.
- The Hirshhorn will exhibit 'Carlotta Corpron: Light Is a Plastic Medium' in October, with 54 of 67 photos from Lust donations.
Entities
Artists
- Herbert Lust
- Alberto Giacometti
- Robert Indiana
- Alexander Calder
- Frank Stella
- Mary Bauermeister
- Hans Bellmer
- Jean-Paul Sartre
- Berenice Abbott
- Henri Cartier-Bresson
- Eugène Atget
- Aaron Siskind
- Eadweard Muybridge
- Carlotta Corpron
Institutions
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Greenwich
- Connecticut
- Manhattan
- Paris
- France
- Washington
- Tel Aviv
- Israel
Sources
- Dasartes —